Olugbemi: Fayemi’s worst better than Fayose’s best

Former factional Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly Dele Olugbemi has warned Governor Ayo Fayose to “stop adopting use and dump tactics” as one of his styles as a politician.

Olugbemi, who rejected his appointment by Fayose as a member of the House of Assembly Service Commission (HASC) last week, lamented that Fayose did not appreciate the sacrifices he made to keep him in office as governor.

He said having worked with both former Governor Kayode Fayemi and Fayose, “the two of them are incomparable”.

“The worst of Fayemi is better than the best of Fayose,” he said.

He said his rejection of the appointment was based on principle and to send a message that “the era of sole administratorship has become outlandish and democratic ethos must be imbibed in the running of government”.

Olugbemi spoke with reporters at the weekend on the heels of the heat generated by his rejection of the appointment and shunning of the screening and confirmation of HASC nominees by the state lawmakers last week.

The ex-factional Speaker vowed to challenge what he called “any undemocratic tendency of Fayose through strong and constructive engagement”.

He listed some politicians allegedly betrayed by Fayose after benefiting from them to include former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Osun PDP governorship candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore, former Ekiti Assembly Speaker Femi Bamisile, former Ekiti PDP Secretary Tope Aluko and House of Assembly candidate Odunayo Talabi.

Frowning at the way the appointment was done, Olugbemi stressed that, if in the space of announcing a few appointments, more than seven persons had rejected the appointment, “it tells that the appointment lacked credibility”.

On the what preceded recent appointments made by the governor, Olugbemi said Fayose raised an appointment committee to draw the template on how appointments would be distributed among members of the party.

The committee was chaired by Senator Clement Awoyelu with former Attorney General, Obafemi Adewale, as secretary.

Olugbemi added that he and other eminent key party chiefs were members.

He claimed that the appointments were solely done by Fayose without recourse to the committee and the party and without following equity, zoning and local government areas of origin.

The ex-factional Speaker said he was surprised by the announcement of his name as HASC member.

He added that before the announcement, Fayose who, according to him, had stopped picking his calls allegedly sent him a text message that a former House of Representatives member had been lobbying for the position he (Olugbemi) rejected.

Olugbemi said it was this alleged action of Fayose that prompted his decision to reject the appointment to prove that “Nigeria still has men of principles in its political space.”

The former Speaker was one of the six All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers in the Fourth Assembly, who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during Fayose’s swearing-in on October 16.

With the backing of the state government, the seven PDP lawmakers on November 20 stormed the Assembly complex and “impeached” former Speaker Adewale Omirin. They later “elected” Olugbemi as “Speaker”.

The ex-factional Speaker presided over the “screening” and “ratification” of three commissioners and passage of the 2015 Appropriation Bill by the seven PDP legislators.

Olugbemi also played a pivotal role in preventing the 19 APC lawmakers from gaining access to the Assembly complex.